Welcome to Serenity
by kendershire
Summary: Part Two. The Elrics brothers find themselves thrown into a world of spaceships and gunfights on their quest to vanquish the next homunculus on their list. In all of the chaos, can they accept the help of a ragtag crew of smuggler? Will they even have a choice?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there to all of my previous readers, ready to continue on Ed and Al's journey! Welcome to all of you who are just jumping on board as well! You should be able to hop right in to the story, but if you want to read the first installment, titled Welcome to Hell (A Fullmetal Alchemist/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover), you can find it on my page. It does have season six and seven spoilers though. Some Buffy will be discussed in this story, but I will try to keep it spoiler free besides some Spike spoilers. **

**This will follow the canon of Firefly, but not the canon of Serenity. I promise it's for plot reasons and not just because I really love certain characters and don't want them to be dead, although that might be a tiny bit of the reason.**

**Quick shout-out and thanks to the super awesome finstermunker for creating Topos 6 for me, and to kaibalikeaboss for kicking my ass and making me sit down and write. Enjoy! Or not. Leave me a review about your strong opinions on the matter.**

**Welcome to Serenity: Chapter One**

**In a Galaxy Far Far Away**

Space was an awfully big place, so Malcolm Reynolds wondered why he spent so much of his time in it avoiding people. Surely he did not have so many enemies that he would run into one everywhere he flew. Unfortunately it seemed that way. Be it Alliance or someone with a more personal grudge, the crew of the Firefly class ship: _Serenity_ was having a pretty hard time as of late. It seemed there was nowhere they could go that wouldn't end up with someone falling into a spot of trouble and then some.

It had been nearly three weeks since their last job. Even worse, they were sitting on a mother lode of cash but had no way to get a pay-off. The Lassiter laser pistol was worth a fortune to say the least, but four months of trying to fence the damn thing proved that no one wanted to deal with something so well-known. They needed money to keep the ship flying, and out of the Alliance's grip.

That's why Mal was thinking about going somewhere he had sworn to never set foot again. And for a very good reason. He liked living, was very fond of it in fact, and going back to Topos 6 jeopardized that. Some powerful people on that rock wanted him dead, and preferably by their own hands. He wouldn't even be within a few parsecs of the _gou cao de _place if he weren't so desperate.

"He's not even listening to me! Mal! Hey, Mal!"

"Sorry what?" Mal turned to look at Wash, who was glaring at him from the pilot's chair. Zoe stood next to him, a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"You know, it would be great if you actually paid attention when I was talking. I'd like to have a say in whether or not we steer Serenity somewhere where we will most likely be skinned alive by a terrifying Russian lady. Since it, you know, kind of effects how long I will remain alive. I don't think that's too much. Do you?"

"Apologies Wash, I was thinkin' along those lines myself. Far as I can tell we don't got any other options. I'd love to stay away from Topos 6, but you know well as I do we got to get rid of the Lassiter. Now Zoe, if you've got a better plan now would be the time to speak up."

She looked down at Wash, and then back at him. "I sure wish I did, sir. No such luck I'm afraid."

"Let's just toss the Gorram Lassiter out the airlock and hoof it out of this quadrant. The money isn't worth the risk!"

He had a point. Mal had been hoping there was some way to make even a small amount of money off of the laser pistol, but maybe Wash was right. Did he want to risk the lives of his entire crew? But was the risk any worse than it normally was? Weren't everyone's lives always in jeopardy with how often they were running from the law?

Mal was once again distracted, this time by hurried feet coming up the corridor. River practically burst into the cabin, followed immediately after by her brother.

"No!" she yelled, stopping in front of Mal. "We have to go! We have to land!"

"What in the hell-"

"River!" Simon admonished, grabbing gently onto her shoulders. "You can't run off like that! Leave the captain alone-"

"No!" She shrugged him off and stared up at Mal. "We can't leave. We have to land on Topos 6! We can't leave them there!" She looked on the verge of tears. "They need us!"

"They?" He gave Simon a glance. Did her brother know what River was talking about? No, he seemed just as clueless. "Who's they?"

"Our friends! They are gonna arrive soon, very soon! We have to go get them! They need our help! Hurry!" She was frantic, and clutched at Mal's shirt. "I can feel the Gate! It's putting them there! Right where it put the bad man! The bad man is still there! We have to help them stop him!"

Grabbing her wrists, Mal carefully pulled her away from him, and into the embrace of Simon. "See if you can get her to calm down. Now what in the hell is she going on about?"

"Some folks on Topos 6 need our help?" Zoe mused. "But who? And why does River know about it? Surely you don't know anyone living there, Dr. Tam?"

"No," Simon sighed. "She's been like this all morning, screaming that we have to go meet our friends. I even gave her a sedative. It hasn't seemed to affect her in the slightest. Maybe we should land and see if it calms her down. I'm really at a loss here."

"Sir, if we land we have to try and fence the Lassiter. Otherwise, it ain't worth the risk of landing." Zoe stated.

"Yeah! And then we can meet up with River's friends and have a tea party! Maybe a certain mob boss and her big henchmen will want to join us as well. Hell, maybe they're even the same people! Won't that be lovely?"

"Wash, your sarcasm is not appreciated. You forget that Zoe and I do have an old friend there. One of the few who don't actually wanna shoot us. If we can get to them we can get the pistol fenced, River here appeased, and be gone before any of us even hear so much as a Russian accent."

"You sure about this, sir?" Zoe had to check, just to be sure. Mal knew she would go along with whatever he decided. And he was decided.

"I am. Wash, set a course for Topos 6. Zoe, inform the rest of the crew. I'll be in my room, figuring out how we're gonna pull this off." He had a feeling though, that nothing was going to go as planned. All he could do now was hope he had made the right decision.

Experiencing the sensations of weightlessness and falling at the same time was disconcerting. He seemed to have a little better sense of self than his previous trip through The Gate. All of him had made it through, at least. Now if he could just get any part of him to function he would be off to a great start. He'd started with the eyes before, so he started with them again.

Okay not so good. His head swam and he blinked several times to try and clear away the purple spots dancing in front of his eyes. Try number two went a little better, and he could see hazy shapes. Sensation came next. He was lying down on cold cobblestones. The sudden return of olfactory senses told him this was an alleyway as he was hit with the lovely fragrance of filth. He coughed and spluttered, eyesight finally going normal.

He heard a groan and scrambled up way too quickly to get a look at his brother, who was lying about ten feet away, on the other side of the alley. "Alphonse! Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah," Al managed, "That trip was better when I was unconscious."

Edward Elric couldn't help but grin. "You all accounted for?"

"Well I'm obviously still not a suit of armor if that's what you mean. But yeah, no harm done here I think." That was a relief. The Gate had promised them Al's full body in return for tracking down and destroying all of the homunculi who had jumped into alternate worlds and scattered. Ed had been so surprised when they arrived in the first world and Al had already been given his body back. The Gate was playing dirty, to make sure that the Elrics knew exactly what they were losing if they failed. Part of Ed had feared Al would be put back into the suit after the first world, as insurance so they wouldn't get cocky.

"How's your strength? Can you move properly? We don't need to re-teach you anything again, right? Without the spells Willow and Giles cast, it will take forever to get you back up to-"

"I'm fine, brother!" Alphonse sat up and rolled his eyes. "Or I will be once this headache goes away. More importantly: where are we?"

That was a very good question. Scanning the alleyway for clues, Ed managed to stand up. There were some posters pasted to the wall advertising alcohol and what appeared to be a strip club. A couple of posters, however, were written in a language he couldn't understand. It looked very similar to the language used in Xing. The alchemist sighed. Who knew what this world was like? The last one had magic. Magic. That had been hard to swallow. A world where people came back from the dead and fought vampires, and sometimes even befriended them. This world could have anything in store.

"Well I don't think we are gonna get anywhere in this nasty old alley," Ed wrinkled his nose. "Let's try and find a market and ask some questions. You're cute, Al. People like to answer your questions."

"Am not cute!" the younger Elric demanded, pouting.

"Sure sure you're ferocious. Let's just-"

"Well look'ee here boys what I done found." Ed turned to find four men standing at the entrance of the alleyway.

"Looks like a coupl'a lost kids. Think we should give'em some direction? See'in as we's such friendly folk an' all." The man grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellowed, rotting teeth. "For a price. You have stepped into Red territory after all."

Ah. This place was probably ruled by opposing crime syndicates or gangs. They needed to get out of this territory, to somewhere safer. "Sorry, pal but I don't let thugs push me around. Now my brother and I are gonna walk out of this alley, and you fine gentlemen are going to tell me the fastest way to get out of Red territory."

A quick glance at Al told him that his brother was ready for a fight.

The man cackled and snarled, "No one insults the Bratja like that and gets away with it! Teach these here children a lesson boys!"

But they were too slow. Ed was upon the first thug before the others had barely taken a step. The heel of his palm came up swiftly under the man's nose, and he felt the cartilage shatter. An automail knee to the gut sent him sprawling on the ground, shouting in a language Ed didn't understand. Swinging to the left to avoid a punch from the second thug, he heard Alphonse grappling with the third man before he landed a solid hit to the second thug's face.

"Gun!" Ed heard Al shout. Looking down he kicked the weapon away from the previously prone thug before smashing the offenders hand into the ground with his boot. The second thug grabbed for him, and it was child's play to flip the poor guy right on top of the first thug. He turned to take on the fourth man and froze with fear.

The fourth man had a gun pointed right at Ed. He heard the click of the hammer. If he dived out of the way fast enough he could-

The gun went off. Ed threw himself to the side, but he could tell he'd moved too slowly. He waited for the impact of the bullet, but the only impact was that of him falling to the filthy ground of the alleyway. Then he heard a cry of pain.

Edward managed to whip his head up just in time to watch his little brother crumple to the ground. "Alphonse! Holy shit! Al!" The next few moments were a blur and when things came back into focus he was kicking the fourth man repeatedly in the ribs.

"Ed! Ed stop kicking him!" It was Al's voice that pulled him back. The alchemist reeled back in horror and stumbled over to his brother, who was trying to sit up. Just next to his right shoulder was a growing red stain.

"Al how the hell did you let yourself get shot you big idiot?" Ed could feel the tears coming.

"Jumped right in front of it." Alphonse rasped, and let out a weak chuckle. "Forgot for a second there that I can't deflect bullets anymore."

Alphonse had always been Ed's shield. He'd never needed to worry about things like that. Al had his back at all times. But now he was so fragile, and Ed had forgotten for a moment too.

"We need to get you some help. Now." Ed removed his jacket and tried to wrap it around Alphonse's arm. "A doctor. We really need a doctor."

Hauling his bother up, they stumbled out of the alley and down the street. After about an hour of wandering and asking directions, they were incredibly lost. Alphonse was losing blood and slowly his consciousness as well. Everything was so foreign here, even more so than the last world. Ed had no idea what to do. What could he do?

There were so many people, just passing them by like they saw young boys bleeding out all the time. Suddenly Al went slack in his arms. Ed went into full panic mode. "Al? Stay with me, Al!" he was breathing, but only shallowly.

There was nothing else to do. "Help! Somebody please help! He's gonna die! I need a doctor now! Please, anybody help!"

"**gou cao de" is Chinese for "dog fucking"**

"**Bratja" is a term often used to describe Russian mobs, normally used by the mobsters themselves. It's akin to calling themselves a "brotherhood"**


	2. Introductions

_Sorry about the delay, guys. I was working at a really awful place but now I have a brand new wonderful job. More importantly, I now have time to write. Hopefully I will be spitting this out faster. One thousand apologies. Please please please take the time to send a review my way. They really help me with my writing process. If I get enough feedback going for this, I might start a tumblr for it which will include illustrations for each chapter, (including Welcome to Hell). If any of you guys would be interested in that, let me know!_

**Welcome to Serenity: Chapter Two**

**Introductions**

"Please! Someone help me! My brother is dying, please!" Edward was at a loss. He sat on the dusty ground in the middle of the street, cradling the body of Alphonse as his life ebbed away. No one seemed to care, some people even had the nerve to simply step over them as they continued to wherever the hell they were going.

Suddenly, there was a man at his side. He looked much cleaner than the other people in this city, wearing a button-down shirt and a vest. "I'm a doctor. What happened to him?"

"Some thugs jumped us in an ally and they shot my brother. Please, help him!" He had to trust this man. He had no choice.

A tall, burly man stood behind the doctor and scowled. "C'mon Simon, we don't got time for no kids. We got a job t'do."

"Jayne," the doctor said, examining the bullet wound with careful hands. "This boy has lost a lot of blood. If I do not help him, he will probably die. Now pick him up and carry him to the ship."

"But-"

"No buts. Pick him up."

"No!" Ed clutched his brother tighter. "I'll carry him. He's my brother-"

"Jayne will carry him so that we can move faster." The doctor named Simon explained. "I understand the need to protect your younger sibling. I would die for my sister without a second thought. But right now we need to get back to my medical hold as quickly as possible. That means Jayne carries your brother, all right?"

Edward found himself nodding numbly and allowing the scowling man to lift Al's body from his arms. The need to snatch Alphonse back raced through him. He couldn't trust anybody, especially not with his brother's life. But he was out of options.

The walk was a haze as the alchemist stumbled after the man who carried Al. A gentle hand from the doctor occasionally steered his way. Simon was telling him something, but he couldn't hear it over the ringing in his ears. The roads opened up into a long strip of gravel. Large metal contraptions—Ed could not think of another word to describe them—lined the strip. They certainly didn't look like any ships Ed had ever seen. There wasn't even any water nearby. He decided to just go with it for Al's sake as they came up to a particular "ship" and a hatch was opened. They strode through what appeared to be a cargo hold, and across a hallway and into a small medical lab. Al was deposited on the examination table before Ed and the other man were ushered out of the room. "I need room to work," had been the doctors reply to Ed's protests.

As soon as the door closed behind them, two large hands shoved Edward up against a wall and held him there. "So here's the deal, kid. The good doctor might be a nice soul and all, but I certainly ain't. And I ain't takin no chances on a planet like this. So how do you reckon yer gonna pay for the doctors good services here?"

"I have money." Ed lied. He knew the type of man he was dealing with well. Their loyalties followed whichever way the money flowed. If worse came to worse he could always wait until Al was okay and then make some gold. It would last long enough for them to get away before turning back into junk. "As soon as I know my brother is okay I can get it for you."

"Jayne would please release that poor boy?" The newcomer was an older, dark-skinned man. Behind him stood a young woman in a floral shirt and green overalls. Despite her brown hair and rounded face, she reminded Ed strongly of Winry. "For goodness sakes, that is no way to treat a guest."

Jayne released Edward from the wall. "Ain't no guest, Shepard. He's paying for Simon's doctorin' skills." Then he turned to Ed with a glare. "Whether or not yer brother in there makes it."

Ed's snarl of protest was cut off by the older gentleman. "What happened?"

Glancing at the window that showed the doctor working over his brother, Ed sighed. "My brother and I are kind of new here. We got lost and wound up in an alleyway. Some men tried to rob us and we fought back. Then one of the bastards shot my brother. I was trying to get help when your doctor ran into us. And now we're here."

"Oh my!" The young woman exclaimed, rushing forward to hug him. Ed grimaced, but allowed the contact. "Don't you worry. First day I met Simon I got shot in the gut and he fixed me right up! Best doctor in the outer rim." She reassured. "If anybody can do it, it's doctor Tam."

She smelled like grease and metal. "Hi! I'm Kaylee, Serenity's mechanic. This is Shepard Book. He's kind of our ship's preacher 'cept none of us really do the whole church thing but him. The big grump there is Jayne, and you met Simon already."

"I'm Ed. Edward Elric. My brother is Alphonse." He hoped that was enough of an introduction for the motley assortment of people in front of him. "Where exactly are we?"

Somehow he ended up sitting on a couch in between Kaylee and the Shepard as he received an explanation. "This here is Serenity: she's a Firefly class cargo ship. Best one flying!" the mechanic exclaimed with pride.

"Flying?" She couldn't be serious.

"Yeah! What kind of ship can't fly?" she giggled. "A broken one that's what."

"I think he meant where are we, geographically speaking." The Shepard put in. Ed gave him a sideways glance. He'd almost rather trust a homunculus than a man of religion.

"Ooh. In that case, we're parked in the Western Shipyard. Sturges' territory."

It seemed like the more he learned the less anything made sense. "Sturges?"

"Gosh you are new here! Didn't nobody tell you bout the triad?"

"Um. No?"

"So you just jumped off the ship to here with no clue?"

"And what about your parents?" Book interjected. "Why would they bring you to such a dangerous place?"

Edward was saved from answering that question when something barreled into him, knocking all of the breath from his lungs. He panicked for a moment until he realized the stuff going up his nose and into his mouth was hair. "River!" a new voice—feminine—called out. "Don't tackle people!" Trying to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs gripping tightly to him proved impossible until aided by the people on either side of him. A face appeared. Large dark eyes framed by stringy brown hair stared at him. Her gaze was very intense, but not in a menacing way. They stared at each other for a few more moments before the girl was pulled fully off of him.

"The hell is wrong with that girl now?" Jayne snorted, leaning against the wall in a corner of the room. "Ain't you supposed t'be watchin' her Inara?" The woman he was glaring daggers at gave Jayne a frosty glare of her own. She was beautiful, more so than anyone Ed had ever met, with long, dark, wavy hair. Her silken red dress and posture spoke of a sophistication the alchemist had only ever heard of.

"I was keeping her company while you and Simon were out," the woman replied. Her voice lacked the harshness or accent present in the rest of the crew's. "But she told me her friends were here, and I assumed she meant the rest of the crew had returned. Clearly that is not the case." Her gaze turned serenely to Edward. "Hello. I am Inara. I hope River did not startle you. Her enthusiasm for strangers is rare."

"Um hi," he managed. "Edward Elric."

"Where is your brother?" The strange girl asked.

"How the hell do you-"

"She's bein' looney again." Jayne snarled.

"Sometimes River just knows things," Kaylee tried to explain. "We've just learned to kind of roll with it. She don't mean no harm or nothin, promise."

The girl unnerved Ed, but he couldn't explain why. And how did she know about Al? She knew too much behind that blank stare. It was the look of a survivor, of what Ed could only guess. "My brother is with your brother." Ed decided to tell her, knowing somehow she and the doctor were siblings. "He's hurt and Simon is fixing him up for me."

"Was it the bad man?" She whispered. "The one who came through before you?"

Ed didn't even know how to begin answering that one. Was she referring to someone she knew, or the homunculus? It was preposterous that she would even know about homunculi, and yet she had known that he had a brother and had recently arrived.

"Well the guy who shot your brother certainly wasn't nice." Kaylee saved him from answering. "Poor Ed here and his brother were attacked by some of the Reds." She explained to Inara.

"That's terrible." The woman sighed. "I wish there was something to be done about those brutes."

"Speaking of which, you ain't lying about just bein mugged were ya? Last thing we need is to be on that psycho-bitch Kalashnikov's radar. You sure she don't got no beef with you, shorty?"

Edward turned his fiery gaze on the man called Jayne. "First, I'm gonna let the height comment slide just this once because you saved my brother's life. Secondly, I have no idea who this Kalashnikov lady is. Just got here, remember?"

He had so many questions, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was seem more suspicious. As soon as Al was better they would be out of these people's lives and hunting down the homunculus. The sooner they got the job done the sooner they would be out of this bizarre place.

Time ticked away as Kaylee babbled to him about the "ship". The moment she started spouting technical jargon he sat there pretending to listen, wrapped up in his worries for Alphonse. At some point the preacher, or whatever they had called him, put a mug of tea in his hands. They could tell he wasn't really listening, but no one had the heart to end his charade. Jayne disappeared after a while, but the others sat with Ed as he waited on news of his brother.

Ed had no idea how much time had passed while he waited. Eventually Kaylee had given up and simply sat with him. Finally Simon entered the room, looking tired. "He's stable. The bullet didn't hit any vital areas. I managed to repair the tissue, but he has lost a lot of blood. With some rest I think he will be just fine."

Nearly sobbing in relief, Ed jumped up, insisting on seeing his sibling. "Can I-"

"He needs to sleep." Simon sighed, understanding Ed's impatience. "He should sleep for a few more hours before you go in to see him."

Pushing down the dread of waiting that long, Ed gave an exhausted nod. "At least he's okay."

Right on cue, Jayne reappeared. "Well now sounds like the perfect time to discuss your payment for our fee-lan-thro-pic actions."

"Jayne, do you even know what philanthropic means?" Simon scoffed.

"Course I do. Means we done somethin nice an' now he gots to pay us fer it. So where's our money, kid?"

"Now hold on just a minute-" began Shepard Book.

"I never said he needed to pay me for helping-"

"You want to take money from a child?" Inara gasped.

"I ain't no discriminatory fella. I take money from everybody. And he owes us fer getting into gang business. What if Kalashikov finds out we're here cause of these two? If I'm gonna die I wanna go out with as much money as I can manage."

"Oh please. This has nothing to do with the Reds. You just want to swindle this poor boy for doing something that any decent person would do without prompting." Inara stood.

"And what would a whore know about decency, huh Inara?" Jayne barked back.

"How dare you-"

Her cry was cut off by a door slamming open and a voice yelling, "What the hell is going on here? Now quit yelling at each other and tell me who this kid is and why he's on my ship." The man Ed saw standing in the doorway was undoubtedly the captain. There was the air of a leader about him, like the one that surrounded Colonel Mustang.

The room fell silent for a moment before River let out a piercing shriek and then collapsed onto the floor.


End file.
